#11

Houshun Gaines

Junior defensive lineman for Virginia Tech. 2018: 4.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 22 tackles.

DL · Virginia Tech · Jr. · #11

6′3″ · 235 lb · Rocky Mount, NC

Virginia Tech 2018 alumnus

The story

3 defensive lineman for Virginia Tech. 2018: 4.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 22 tackles.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Virginia Tech, 8 sacks — his college career is complete.

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

Virginia Tech

2016–2018

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2016–2018

1 coach

2016–2018

Justin Fuente

Virginia Tech

Played his entire career under Justin Fuente.

2018 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Justin Fuente — 25-15 over that span.

2016Virginia Tech10-4HC: Justin Fuente · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2017Virginia Tech9-4HC: Justin Fuente · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2018Virginia Tech6-7HC: Justin Fuente · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (97th percentile). Strength: sacks (94th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

QB hurries#60 / 2662 · 97th pct

Sacks#149 / 2662 · 94th pct

4.5

Tackles for loss#607 / 2662 · 76th pct

5.0

Passes defended#1093 / 2662 · 48th pct

Forced fumbles#63 / 722 · 46th pct

Solo tackles#1570 / 2662 · 39th pct

Tackles#1796 / 2662 · 32nd pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2018 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home4g	2.0	0.4	0.2	0.0
Road5g	2.8	0.7	0.7	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.8	0.8	0.8	0.2
Weeks 8+3g	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

James Franklin

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2018

Backup

On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2018	Virginia Tech	22	14	5.0	4.5	1	--	--
2017	Virginia Tech	24	17	7.0	3.0	1	--	--
2016	Virginia Tech	5	--	0.5	0.5	--	--	--
Career		51	31	12.5	8.0	2	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2018

W 62–17

vs William & Mary

1 rec · 15 yds

Dominant 45-point win at home against William & Mary.

With J. Jackson — 217 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · 21 rush yds (3 car) · 1 TD · T. Wheatley — 58 rush yds (7 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2018 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 24-3@ Florida State	4	3	0.0	0.0	—	1	Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 2	W 62-17vs William & Mary	2	2	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 35-49@ Old Dominion	3	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 31-14@ Duke	4	2	2.5	2.5	—	0	2.5 sacks
Wk 6	L 23-45vs Notre Dame	2	1	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 22-19@ North Carolina	2	1	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 9	L 28-49vs Georgia Tech	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	L 21-31vs Boston College	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	L 22-52@ Pittsburgh	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		22	14	5.0	4.5	—	1

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology